The Trial
by showtunediva
Summary: An reinvention of the People Versus Horton The Elephant Scene. I own no rights to Seussical characters or lyrics Enjoy! :)


**The Trial**

**A reimgining of the People Vs Horton The Elephant Scene**

**I own no rights to any characters or lyrics from Seussical. Lyrics to People Vs Horton The Elephant are separated from the rest of the story by italics**

Horton's trial took place two days later. The Bird Girls and Gertrude sat together in the court room.

"I really hope we have enough proof that the Whos do exist." Evie said worriedly.

"How much proof do you really need? You guys talked to Mr. and Mrs. Mayor... they told you everything about they were feeling after the crash." Skye said

Gertrude squeezed Evie's hand. "Try not to worry about anything too much Evie. Everything will be sorted out soon and then all this ridiculousness will be over with."

" I really hope you're right Gertrude."

The Bailiff rose and said...

_This is the case of the people versus__  
__Horton the elephant_

_Judge Yertle the turtle presiding.__  
__Everyone rise!_

Everyone stood to address the Judge and he called the court room to order.

"Today we are here to prove that Horton the Elephant is in fact insane. He has been charged with talking to a clover and loitering on egg. Please be seated."

Everyone else in the court room took their seats.

Horton lumbered to the stand

"Your honor this clover is exhibit A. There are human beings on this clover who have recently been through a horrible battle."

Judge Yertle looked skeptical. "And you have said you've heard them speak before?"

"Yes your honor."

"We'll believe that when we hear it. Please go back to your seat." Judge Yertle scoffed.

The Bailiff called the first witness to the stand who was the Sour Kangaroo

_SOUR KANGAROO__  
__I swear...__  
__That he's the biggest blame fool__  
__In the Jungle of Nool__  
__As I testified long ago.__  
__Biggest blame fool___

_YOUNG KANGAROO__  
__Just a fool, fool, fool!___

_SOUR KANGAROO__  
__And a mother like me should know.__  
__Judgin' him trunk to toe...__  
__You better think!___

_BIRD GIRLS__  
__Think!___

_SOUR KANGAROO__  
__Think!___

_BIRD GIRLS__  
__Think!___

_SOUR KANGAROO__  
__Oh please, throw him in the clink!_

"Ms Kangaroo, what makes you think there are no creatures on that clover?" Judge Yertle asked

"Human beings don't live on clovers they only live on Planet Earth. Horton feels otherwise."

"And have you heard theses "Whos" speak before like Horton claims?" Judge Yertle asked.

"No, Your honor."

"Objection!" Gertrude called out.

"Overruled!" The others in the court room responded

"And what are your view points of Horton sitting on that egg?"

Sour Kangaroo had a smirk on her face. "Honestly I think all of us were shocked when Mayzie left Horton in charge of her egg. Horton certainly looks strange sitting on it He has been the butt of many jokes for weeks."

"Do you feel Horton is being treated unfairly?"

"No you honor, however I do think that Mayzie should have some sort of accountability for her egg."

"Objection!" Gertrude called out again.

"Overruled!" The other jungle creatures responded.

"Thank you Ms. Kangaroo. Those are all the questions I have for you right now."

Sour Kangaroo went back to her seat as she passed Gertrude she smirked at her.

"We're going to win this trial you know. You have no proof of anything." she said

Gertrude turned a deep shade of red. "Just you wait! We're going to prove all of you wrong!"

"I'd like to see that happen." Sour Kangaroo said.

"Your honor, you're only hearing one side of the story. The Whos do exist and I can prove it to you." Horton looked nervous.

"I've heard no small voices." Judge Yertle still looked smug.

"I have a few friends of mine in the courtroom who I'd like to call up to the stand please." Horton said

"Who?"

"Gertrude McFuzz and one of Mayzie's back up singers Evie."

"Alright Ms McFuzz will you please take the stand?"

Gertrude stood up. "Certainly!" She looked at Evie and the rest of the bird girls nervously before walking up to the witness stand.

"Don't worry darlin' you'll do fine. We're all behind you." Zoe said.

"Ms. McFuzz how long have you known the defendant?" the baliff asked

"2 or 3 years. I live next door to him."

"You've stated before that you've never seen him do anything out of the ordinary?"

"That's correct your honor."

"And these so called "Whos" do you believe that they exist?"

Gertrude nodded her head firmly. " I do. If you do anything to destroy that clover Horton and I will be devastated."

"I'll believe the fact that the Whos exist when I actually hear them speak. You're dismissed Ms McFuzz. Horton would you like to call your other witness to the stand."

"Yes your honor." Evie stood up and walked to the witness stand.

"Evie is your name correct?

"Yes your honor. I'm the youngest of Mayzie's back up singers."

"How long have you known the defendant and Gertrude?"

"We're all neighbors. Our pent house in on the other side of Gertrude's house. We've known them for three years and they're good friends of ours."

The Bailiff shuffled some papers around. "What can you tell me about these so called "Whos?"

"Well your honor my friends and I helped Gertrude find the clover and we were happy to see that the Whos were not frozen to death. We returned the clover to Horton a few days ago and he was very happy. He's been extremely worried about the well being of the Whos because of the cold weather."

"So you have reason to believe these creatures do exist?"

"Yes your honor."

"And your feelings about Horton sitting on the egg?"

" This whole situation has been unnecessary and quite ridiculous."

"Is it my understanding you saw Horton when he was in the circus in Kalamazoo?

Evie nodded. "Yes, your honor. He was absolutely miserable. You would be too if you were laughed at all day."

"Do you agree with Ms Kangaroo's statement that Mayzie should take accountability for her egg?"

Evie nodded. "Yes, your honor, my friends and I agree with Sour Kangaroo about that but that's basically the only thing we agree with her on."

"Thank you Evie. You're dismissed."

Evie walked back to her seat and sat down in between Zoe and Jessica.

"Great job Ev." Jessica said.

"Hopefully they believe us!" Orla said.

"I really hope so too." Evie said.

Skye patted Evie's shoulder. "They definitely will. You shouldn't have doubt about yourself."

:"Your honor the Whos are depending on me. You can't throw me in jail or lock me up in a zoo. My friends have spoken very well in my defense."

"I still have not heard them speak yet" Judge Yertle said.

Horton held the clover to his ear. "Whos can you hear me? If you can send up a shout."

Mr. and Mrs. Mayor called up "Hello Horton."

"Did you hear that?"

Judge Yertle shook his head and shuffled his paperwork.

"No, Horton. I have no choice but to sentence you to 3 years in the Nool asylum for the criminally insane."

"My friends have given you proof that I'm not insane. What else do you need?"

"Visual proof which we don't have any of." Judge Yertle said.

"What's going to happen to the clover?" one of the jungle creatures called out

"We have no choice to boil it in beezlenut oil."

Sour Kangaroo sent a defiant smirk in Gertrude's direction. Evie put her head in hands and began to sob. "They're going to kill the Whos!"

Evie felt Zoe's arm wrap around her. "Don't cry sweetheart."

"Boil that clover!" The other jungle creatures yelled.

Jessica noticed that Stella Victoria and Rose were sitting by themselves apart from the rest of the jungle creatures. They didn't look very happy. She walked over to where they were sitting.

"Girls do you want to come sit with us? You shouldn't be sitting alone."

Rose nodded. "None of our friends want to sit with us. They are mad at us for being on Horton's side. We tried to get them to believe us but they wouldn't listen."

Evie looks really sad. "Victoria said.

Jessica nodded. "Yes, we're all upset by this verdict. This is all very ridiculous."

Horton looked alarmed.

"Your honor you can't boil the clover. There are people living on there."

"As I said Horton I have heard no voices and neither has anyone else in this courtroom... well aside from your friends who believe you."

_Horton looked frantic._

_Mr. Mayor, Mr. Mayor!__  
__Oh, please, Mr. Mayor!__  
__You've got to prove now__  
__That you really are there!__  
__So ring every doorbell.__  
__And send out the word!__  
__Make every Who holler!__  
__Make every Who heard!_

Mr. and Mrs. Mayor sent out a town wide alarm to all the Whos and the started a rally to try to get the Whos to shout up to the people in the court room.

"WE ARE HERE WE ARE HERE WE ARE HERE!"

"Did you hear that?" Horton asked

Judge Yertle's expression remained stoic. "No I did not."

Gertrude looked at Horton worriedly. 'Come on Whos please don't let us down now!' she thought to herself.

_Don't give up! I believe in you all!__  
__A person's a person, no matter how small!__  
__And you very small persons will not have to die__  
__If you make yourselves heard! So, please! TRY!_

Another resounding round of "We Are Here We Are Here" erupted from the clover.

"Surely you can hear them now." Horton said.

"No, I cannot." Judge Yertle said.

Orla looked at Tia. "This is turning into a Verizon Wireless commercial."

Tia tried very hard to stifle a laugh but it didn't work very well.

"Hush you two." Scarlet admonished.

"Jo Jo, think of something!" Horton and Mr. and Mrs. Mayor said to Jojo

The young boy looked nervously around at the Citizens of Whoville and up to the courtroom full of people he did not recognize... his eyes scanned the courtroom and he spotted Gertrude who looked visibly anxious and was seated next to a bird girl who was crying.

Now just for a moment, young Jojo looked grim.  
The fate of the Whos rested squarely on him!  
But then came a think.-  
A peculiar new word no one ever had heard!

After the Yopp resounded from all corners of the court room the jungle creatures looked shocked. Stella Victoria and Rose exchanged high fives.

"Now it was Horton's turn to look smug. "Now do you believe me your honor?"

Judge Yertle nodded his head. "Yes, I do Horton. All charges will be dropped against you. Court dismissed."

Gertrude and Evie ran up to Horton.

"YAY Horton! We won!" Evie said.

"Thank you girls for all your help... I couldn't have done this without you."

"You're welcome. That's what friends are for." Gertrude said.

Suddenly a crack sounded from behind Horton.

"What's that sound?" Evie said

Gertrude's jaw dropped "I think the egg is finally hatching."

The other bird girls and jungle creatures gathered around curiously. The Whos looked up in anticipation from their clover.

The egg hatched and Gertrude and Horton were surprised at what emerged.

"It's an elephant bird!" Stella said.

"He's so cute. What are you going to name it?" Rose asked

Gertrude and Horton looked at each other. "This was supposed to be Mayzie's child what do you think she would've named it?" Horton asked

Skye smiled. " Mayzie's not here you two should be able to come up with a name."

Gertrude smiled "I think we should name it after Jo Jo. He saved the Whos after all."

Horton smiled. "That's a great idea Gertrude."

Horton spoke to the Whos "You all can come down from the clover now. The trial is over."

One by one the residents of WhoVille stepped off their clover. Gertrude and Horton motioned Mr. And Mrs. Mayor and Jo Jo over.

"We decided to name the Elephant Bird after Jo Jo." Horton said.

Mrs. Mayor had tears in her eyes. "You two are wonderful friends. We're so grateful for all you did to save Whoville."

"How can we ever repay you?" Mr. Mayor asked.

Gertrude smiled. "Don't worry about doing that right away. Right now our focus needs to be uniting the citizens of Whoville and the citizens of Jungle of Nool as one. I think it may take awhile for everyone to get used to the used to the new atmosphere. Hopefully we'll eventually be able to live together in unity."

Jojo smiled. "Hey Horton, can I meet the rest of the bird girls?"

Gertrude smiled "I'll be happy to introduce you to them. There are a few girls your age standing over there too so I'll introduce them to you too." she pointed to Stella Victoria and Rose."

Jo Jo nodded excitedly. "Come on Gertrude let's go! I can't wait to meet new friends!"

Gertrude smiled. "I'll be right back!"

"Take your time." Horton said.

**Stay tuned for more stories that chronicle the adventures of Horton, Gertrude and the rest of your Seussical friends. So many new ideas are floating around in my head and I can't wait to get started with them. :) **


End file.
